


Winning Isn't Everything

by LittleBlondeMermaid



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: After Episode 2x06, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Felicity Pulling Away, Jealous Oliver
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-03
Updated: 2013-12-03
Packaged: 2018-01-03 09:52:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1069062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleBlondeMermaid/pseuds/LittleBlondeMermaid
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Oliver tells Felicity that he can't be with some one he could really care about, Felicity tries to carve out a life away from Oliver Queen and the Hood.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Winning Isn't Everything

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is my first ever fanfic. I hope you like it! I'm a bit nervous about this whole thing, so please be kind. Also, this is unbeta-ed so the mistakes are mine!

“Well, I think you deserve better” Felicity said and then walked out the door. She could barely look Oliver in the eye. She’d always known that she was the sidekick, the IT girl. She knew she shouldn’t have gotten her hopes up. He made it seem like he might share her feelings, but they couldn’t be together. She knew how he felt about putting his family in danger. Was this the same thing? Did she want to wait around for him to stop being the Hood? No, she thought, he’ll never be done. She couldn’t wait forever.

Felicity told herself she would get over this. She would just be his assistant, his buddy, his teammate. Everything else was off the table.

But after a full day in the office with just a piece of glass between the two of them, she couldn’t shake it. After work, she went straight home, instead of to the foundry. She’d rather watch Doctor Who chase after Rose than look at Oliver and Digg practice. She ordered take out and reminded herself of how she was going to be out after Walter was home safe anyway.

~~~

She acted professionally at work. She even brought Oliver his coffee in the morning. No jokes, no secret smiles, just business. She could do this, she told herself. Instead of eating lunch with Diggle and Oliver, she rushed out without saying anything. She sat in her car for 30 minutes and then went back to her desk. Digg and Oliver were still eating and talking, but Felicity started doing work. The good thing about having two jobs was there was always something to do.

Through the pane of glass, Oliver kept up his usual routine. He met with department heads and clients. He escorted each to the elevator politely and walked back to his desk, looking sadly at Felicity. After his last meeting of the day, Oliver stopped by her desk.

“Are we okay?” He tried to look her straight in the eyes, but she kept looking at her computer screen. She glanced up at him and then looked back down.

“Peachy, boss. I need to finish this before I go home today.” He handed her a sheet of paper with a name on it.

“Well, when you finish, I need you to find some information for me as soon as possible.” He sighed and went back to his desk to collect his things.

“I’ll get on it.”

Felicity nodded at Oliver when Diggle came to drive him home. She didn’t go to the Arrow Cave that night. She had her trusty tablet. Felicity Smoak could hack from anywhere. It didn’t even take her that long until she had an address. She picked up her phone as she started up her Netflix. Her finger hovered over Oliver’s number. She picked Digg’s instead.

“Digg, it’s Felicity. The address is 3425 Riverside Drive.” She said quickly, ready to get on to her Doctor Who marathon.

“Thanks Felicity. I’ll tell him.” Diggle responded. He sounded out of breath, like Oliver had been making him work out extra hard. “Just out of curiosity… why didn’t you call Oliver?”

“Oh, you know, your name comes first in the alphabet.” Felicity quips. She doesn’t want to talk about it -- not even with Diggle.

“That’s also why you haven’t come by in two days?” She wasn’t going to tell him about what happened between her and Oliver yet. Maybe if she decided to leave the team altogether, she would tell Digg the story when she said goodbye.

“What, do you miss me when I am not there?” The conversation faded. “Don’t worry, I’ll see you soon.”

~~~

It was hard to admit to herself but she was hung up on him. Oliver was what her world revolved around, and that needed to end. Even when she was avoiding him, her life was focused on him. She wanted things to go back to normal. Her normal was nerdy IT girl.

She punched in the code to the foundry and went downstairs. Oliver looked up at her as she sat down at her desk, but neither of them said anything. There wasn’t anything to say.

“Felicity, it’s good to see you in your spot.” Diggle said when he entered. She smiled at him.

“Well, there were a few updates I wanted to do on the computers.” Felicity responded. “Digg, can you help me? I need somebody to hold this up while I work on it.”

Diggle obliged. Oliver watched for a minute, then went back to working out. The night started to feel like things were back to normal. Sure, she scooted away from Oliver when he looks over her shoulder now and slid out from his reach when he tried to touch her shoulders, but she kept coming to the foundry.

~~~  
Felicity knew that for life to not revolve around Oliver, she couldn’t avoid him completely or be constantly on hand. After a week of being the Hood’s IT girl every night, she made plans with her friends from before her trip into vigilantism. They had harassed her for weeks to hang out with them again. She’d been busy and embarrassed of her new job. She told the girls they could pick any place as long as it wasn’t Verdant.

She put on a new dress and heels. Her hair fell in perfect curls. She checked her bright pink lipstick in the mirror one more time before she left. Just as she was headed out the door, her phone dinged.

Diggle: What did Oliver do this time?

Felicity looked at and shook her head.

Felicity: Nothing, just going out with friends.

She dropped her phone into her handbag and decided to ignore it for the rest of the night.  
~~~

The place her friends chose was much more relaxed than Verdant. Not a place Pre-Island Oliver Queen and Tommy Merlyn would hang out in. She enjoyed spending some time with the girls, but she was more of a board game night or a movie viewing type of girl. In the end, she was just happy to have drinks with someone who didn’t feel like the world was their personal responsibility. She wanted to make up for weeks of absence, so she chatted politely and smiled freely, and when it was her turn, she offered to buy the girls the next round.

She walked from their table to the bar. The bar wasn’t packed, so she quickly got the bartenders attention. She ordered drinks for her friends and waited. The guy standing next to her smiled at her. He was cute with brown hair, glasses and a crooked smile.

“Does that always happen to you at bars?” He asked her. He chuckled at her confused face. “The bartender coming to you right away. It always helps to be a pretty girl.”

“Oh, I don’t come to bars much.” She blushed as she said.

“I’m Sam.” He offered his hand to her.

“Felicity.” She smiled in response. The four drinks for her friends and her arrived.

“Well, Felicity, for a girl who doesn’t come to bars much, you sure can drink.” He tipped his head to the drinks.

“Oh, ha, they’re for my friends. Over there.” She pointed at the table of girls who were trying to act casual while they stared at Felicity and Sam. “I didn’t really think this through when I came up here alone.”

“Well, I’ll make you a deal. I’ll help you take the drinks to your friends, if you give me your number.” Sam handed his phone to her.

“Sounds like a plan to me” She punched in her numbers and Sam helped her to take the drinks. He slipped away letting her get back to her friends.

At the end of the night, she checked her phone. A couple texts from Diggle about Oliver’s attitude and hoping she was going to be safe and one from Sam.

Sam: I hope to see you again soon, Felicity.

~~~

The next day in the office was easier. Every time her phone dings, she knew its Sam. She smiled more. She got her work done and manages to respond to every text.

“You seem happier today. Did you have a good night off?” Oliver asked her at lunch.

“Yes, my friends and I went to that bar around the corner.” Felicity looked down at her food while she answered. Oliver watched her closely. He always knew when she was being evasive. She thought after months of lying about where she spent her nights she would be a better liar but she wasn’t.

“You’ve been on your phone quite a bit today. You making other plans?” He watched her. She kept eating.

“Not for tonight, maybe later this week.” She looked at Diggle to see if he had caught the lie in it. Digg shook his head. He wasn’t going to save Felicity.

“Well, I don’t have anything planned for tonight. So you could make plans.” Oliver responded. Felicity didn’t know if he was accepting her fading out of the team or if he was trying to get rid of her. It stung a bit but she looked up at him with a fake smile.

“Thanks, boss.”

~~~

Felicity took the night off like she thought Oliver wanted. She texted Sam to grab coffee. Nothing big, casual, she told herself.

It started off as one night a week, but quickly, it grew to three or four. Sam was a nice guy. He liked Sci Fi and the same Chinese take out she did. He even had the added bonus of not making her so nervous she embarrassed herself. Sometimes Sam took her on nice dates, but most of the time, they relaxed at her apartment.

Oliver didn’t try to stop the dates when they start. Felicity didn’t bring Sam to Verdant and didn’t introduce them to Oliver or Diggle -- they weren’t friends, at least not publicly. She was realizing, slowly, that privately, they weren’t really either. They saved the city together, and afterwards, Diggle and Oliver would get burgers and Felicity would go home alone.  
~~~

Felicity, was having a particularly crappy day. Oliver was in a bad mood. Between the criminal element of the week evading him last night and Isabel demeaning him in front of the board, she couldn’t blame him. But he was being a bit of a tyrant. Oliver wanted her to stay late today, and she felt like she owed him that much.

Felicity texted Sam about how crazy her day had been. They had a date that she had to postpone for work. Maybe just a few hours later, she told him. She texted him about how her boss was being obsessive and controlling that day and how she was staying late trying to rangle his schedule for the next week.

She went back to her work. She wondered if she should bring Oliver some coffee but decided against it.

“Quite a view you got here, Felicity.” She looked up from her desk. Sam stood there with his hands in his pockets. “I couldn’t wait to see you any longer. I decided to pick you up.”

Felicity closed out the windows on her computer, it was 8 o’clock, and walked over to him. She placed a hand on his chest and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips. He looked like he was going to say something, when she heard a throat clearing.

Standing in the doorway to his office, Oliver looked calm--a little too calm. He smiled and came over to the couple.

“Well, aren’t you going to introduce us, Felicity?” Oliver asked.

“Yes, this is my boss, Oliver Queen, and this is my…Sam.” Felicity ended promptly. Sam looked displeased with that introduction, but Felicity didn’t know what their relationship was. They’d only been dating a couple weeks.

“Nice to meet you Mr. Queen.” Sam reached out his hand to Oliver. Oliver looked him over and accepted it.

“Likewise.” Oliver looked to Felicity and back at Sam. “I need to speak with Felicity before she goes home.”

Felicity moved close enough to kiss Sam, put her hand on his chest and looked him in the eyes.

“Why don’t you wait for me downstairs in the lobby? I’ll be right down.” She said in a low voice. She smiled and guided him to the elevator. Before he got on the elevator, Sam looked at Oliver. She couldn’t tell if he was sizing her boss up or what.

Felicity turned back around. Oliver stood with his arms crossed.

“So, I assume you won’t be helping us again tonight.” Oliver said gruffly.

“I didn’t know you needed help.” Felicity responded shortly.

“It seems like you aren’t dedicated anymore.” Oliver wanted to hurt her. She could see it, but it still felt like she was being slapped. She grabbed her purse from next to her desk and moved further away from Oliver. “Felicity,” he sighed. “I don’t want things to be like this. I want it to be normal again.”

“And you think normal is me coming to the basement of a nightclub every night to help you be a hooded vigilante?” Felicity wasn’t usually cruel, but she was tired of pretending Oliver would want to be with her for real. She wanted to go on her date, with the nice guy downstairs. She was tired of forlorn and broody. She wanted casual and happy.

“Why did you bring him here?” Oliver looked her in the eye. She looked back at him.

“He surprised me. Oliver, I’m not trying to make you jealous. I just can’t live my life waiting.”

Oliver looked like she punched him in the stomach. He didn’t meet her eyes. He walked back into his office and Felicity went to the elevator. She would go by the foundry tomorrow.

~~~  
Her date with Sam went fine. He was acting more distant than usual. When the topic of work came up, he became quiet. When she tried to talk about what they would do this weekend, he was evasive.

During desert, Oliver called her. He needed her for a mission. She kissed Sam goodnight and stood up quickly claiming that something came up at work.

“He’s into you, you know.” Sam said flatly. “Oliver.”

“He really isn’t.” Felicity quickly responded. Sam looked at her with sad eyes.

“I can’t tell if you just can’t see it or you don’t want to.” Felicity felt like blushing. She kissed him again and then headed to Verdant.

~~~  
The next day when she woke up, she texted Sam like normal

Felicity: I’m sorry our date got cut short. I had a really nice time.

She usually heard back from him within minutes, but this time an hour went by. Then she heard her phone ding.

Sam: I just can’t compete with him. I’m sorry.

Felicity: You aren’t competing.

He didn’t respond. She told herself it was casual. He was going to text her in awhile. Maybe he was busy. She needed to hack the FBI database for Oliver, anyway. She headed to the foundry.

She focused on the computer. She was tracking another person on the list. Her phone didn’t ding a single time.

The entire day has passed. She had hacked another billionaire's credit card. She had nothing else to think about. Except how she blew it or how Oliver blew it for her. She realized that Sam wasn’t going to text her again. She chewed on her lip and closed out the windows on the computer.

Oliver stood over her shoulder, he looked down at the computer.

“Is everything ok, Felicity?” She turned to look up at him.

“Sam said he wasn’t up for competing with you, because you are into me. According to him, either I am blind or I don’t want to see.” He looked like he was going to speak, but she was using her loud voice. “I know. We can’t be together. I get it. I can’t be with you. I can’t have a life and do this, apparently. So guess what, Oliver, you’ve won. I’m here. I’m dedicated. Just leave me alone. Go work out or something.”

~~~

She came in every day after that. No more avoiding Oliver. She worked. She stayed late. Most of the time, they got the bad guy. A week passed before Oliver said anything to her again.

“Felicity,” Oliver approached her. “You’ve been working too hard. I didn’t… I didn’t want this.” Felicity looked up at him. “I was trying to protect you. Then, I was jealous. I’m sorry.” He sighed and touched her shoulder. “You know... you can still tell me about your day if you want to.”

“I don’t feel like talking.” Felicity said. Oliver started to walk away defeated. “But I don’t want to be alone anymore.”

“What would you like to do?”

“Well, I’d like to stare at you while you work out shirtless, but I’d settle for Chinese food and Doctor Who.”

He smiled at her.

“I can work out while you order, and then you can explain all the characters to me while I do that.” He pointed to his Salmon Ladder and started taking off his shirt.

“Sure thing, boss.” She drawled out focusing on his body and not on his face.

“I can never tell if that’s an insult or not.” He looked down at her, but she couldn’t seem to take her eyes off his chest.

“You’ll never know.” She winked and dialed her phone for takeout.

She snuggled into one of their emergency blankets, and he walked over to the Salmon Ladder.

“So, the Doctor is a thousand year old Time Lord from Galifrey..."

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
